


waiting to bloom

by rythyme (pugglemuggle)



Category: Naruto
Genre: (kind of), 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Childhood Friends, Compulsory Heterosexuality, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Language of Flowers, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Young Love, enemies/rivals to friends to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:08:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22539100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pugglemuggle/pseuds/rythyme
Summary: Five times Ino gives Sakura flowers.(Or, a series of vignettes, spanning from their childhood to their first kiss.)
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Yamanaka Ino
Comments: 14
Kudos: 123





	waiting to bloom

**Author's Note:**

> look at me... writing my first nart fic in the year of our lord 20-fuckin-20. i have no regrets. naruto is good, actually. i love two (2) wlw kunoichi
> 
> (unbeta-ed, any mistakes are my own)

1.

_ Cherry blossoms: Accomplishment, kindness, and beauty _

The day after Ino throws aconite at Sakura’s bullies, Ino comes to school with a bouquet of cosmos and thoroughworts. “We got in trouble after what happened yesterday, so you didn’t get to keep yours,” Ino explains. “But I think that’s dumb, because these flowers really suit you.”

Sakura stares at the bouquet. “You made this… for me?”

“Well, yeah.” Ino grins, wide and dazzling. “You deserve to have pretty things.”

She holds the bouquet out a little more insistently, and Sakura takes it carefully with both hands.

“It’s— It’s so pretty, Ino,” she says quietly, gazing at the soft pink cosmos at the center. Ino was right—the thoroughworts really do make a good match. The tiny white flowers make it look as though the cosmos are floating in a bed of clouds. Then she notices what looks like dark twigs with little pink buds peeking out from the sides of the bouquet. “What are these, Ino?” she asks, tilting the bouquet for Ino to see.

Ino’s smile becomes even more brilliant, and Sakura’s heart pounds hard in her chest.

“Those are cherry tree branches,” Ino says. “The buds will turn into cherry blossoms. When the cosmos start wilting, the cherry blossoms will bloom, and the bouquet will be even more gorgeous.”

“Oh…” Sakura’s face feels too warm. She traces one of the branches gently with her finger, keeping her eyes away from Ino’s too-bright smile. “Cherry blossoms… like…”

“Like you, Sakura,” Ino says easily. “I meant it when I said you might bloom into something even more beautiful than those cosmos.”

Sakura pulls the bouquet close to her chest, grips it a little tighter, and murmurs, “Thank you, Ino.”

❀✿

2.

_ Orange lilies: Rivalry, revenge, and hatred _

Two weeks after Sakura hears the rumor about Ino’s crush on Sasuke, and a week after Sakura breaks off her friendship with Ino, Sakura discovers a bouquet of orange lilies on her doorstep. There’s no note attached to it, no name, but Sakura knows who it’s from. There’s only one person who would give her a bouquet, only one person as well-versed in the language of flowers. She’s the reason Sakura even knows what orange lilies mean. 

Sakura picks up the bouquet and brings it inside. The colors phase effortlessly from blood orange at the center to nearly yellow at the tips of the flower petals, with small, burgundy freckles dotting the space in between. They’re beautiful, despite what they mean. Still, she should throw them away.

(She doesn’t, though. She goes to the cupboard, pulls out a vase, fills it with a little water, and carefully sets the bouquet inside. She leaves it in the kitchen, sitting on the breakfast table. When her parents get home, they ask her where it came from. She tells them it was delivered by mistake.)

❀✿

3.

_ Sunflower: Respect, radiance, and loyalty _

Their first chunin exam changes something between them. Although their fight ends in a tie, it’s a relief to release all the feelings that have been stewing within them for the last few years. She hadn’t realized quite how much she’d missed Ino until they’re leaning against the wall, broken and battered, smiling at one another like they didn’t just give each other all these bruises. Even with the mark under her eye, the blood smeared on her cheek, and the 5-second haircut, Ino is gorgeous. She’s always been gorgeous. 

Of course the peace isn’t permanent. They slip easily back into their rivalry, like a familiar pair of shoes. And yet… It’s different now. Even as they yell and make promises of victory, Sakura feels the change deep in her chest, the bittersweet rekindling of the friendship they used to share. It won’t be the same as it was---it can’t be, after all that’s happened. But they have a fresh start now. They have a chance to build something new. 

She sees Ino a couple days later at the flower shop. The remnants of her ponytail have been pulled into a small bun at the back of her head. Sakura is struck, not for the first time, by how easily and gracefully Ino pulls off every new look. Her new haircut suits her just as much as the long ponytail did.

But she didn’t come to the flower shop to look at Ino—she came to get a flower to bring Sasuke at the hospital. Ino, of course, won’t be outdone. She decides to come as well, picking out a red rose to bring to Sasuke’s bedside. They bicker a little at first—just like old times—but Ino is oddly quiet as she gets behind the register to help Sakura pay for the flowers: one daffodil for Sasuke, one for Lee. 

“Your house is on the way to the hospital, right?” Ino asks when she snaps the register shut. 

Sakura frowns. “Of course it is. You know where my house is, Ino.”

“Of course I do. I was just—” Ino huffs, crossing her arms for a moment before letting them fall to her sides. “We accidentally ordered a double batch of sunflowers today. More than we can sell. I just thought it’d be better to offer you one rather than throw them all in the trash. You can drop it off at your house on the way.”

“Oh.” Sakura blinks. Ino is looking away, her expression uncharacteristically self-conscious. “Oh. I’d—I’d love one, Ino.”

“Good.” Ino turns around and disappears behind the curtain to the back end of the shop. She reappears a moment later, a brilliant little sunflower held in one hand, the stem cushioned in florist’s plastic. 

“Here,” she says. “Take it before I decide to throw it away after all.”

Sakura takes it. She turns the flower in her hand, admiring the bright colors. “Thank you, Ino,” she says. 

“It’s nothing,” Ino says, but Sakura knows better. The Yamanakas never overstock. She doesn’t say so, though. She’ll accept the gift for what it is.

She puts the sunflower in a vase in her bedroom, at the corner of her desk. When she settles into bed that night, the sunflower is the last thing she sees before she falls asleep.

❀✿

4.

_ Peonies & Edelweiss: Bravery, power, and courage _

Everything falls apart when Sasuke leaves. 

Sakura doesn’t sleep. She hardly has an appetite. Naruto, Shikamaru, and some of the other genin have gone after Sasuke but all Sakura can think of is the way he looked when he left him that night—the way he didn’t even turn around when she told him she loved him. She is powerless. Useless. No wonder Sasuke left them—left  _ her. _

The hours following the recovery squad’s departure are excruciating. She spends them alone, holed up on the floor of her bedroom and trying to convince herself that this is real. It doesn’t  _ feel _ real. There’s nothing but an all-consuming emptiness in her chest and she thinks that maybe if she could just fall asleep, it would all go away like a bad dream. But she can’t fall asleep. And being awake hurts so, so much.

After a couple hours, there’s a soft knock on her door. 

“Mom, I said I’m not hungry,” she rasps. Her own voice sounds foreign to her her ears—a stranger’s voice, raw and scratchy.

“It’s not your mom,” says a quiet voice behind the door—Ino. A fresh wave of tears spills down her cheeks and she isn’t quite sure why. It takes several moments before she can speak again.

“Come in,” she manages to say.

The door opens, and Ino steps into her bedroom before closing the door softly behind her. She takes a seat next to Sakura on the floor.

“I’m sorry, Sakura,” she murmurs.

Sakura’s throat is too tight for her to speak, so she just nods. 

“I brought you something.” Ino holds up a bouquet of flowers Sakura hadn’t noticed when she walked in. They’re red-pink peonies surrounded by small white edelweiss blossoms. “I thought maybe… I don’t know.”

Sakura twists and throws her arms around Ino.

The hug is tight and awkward. They’re sitting side by side against a wall, and the bouquet is between them, but Sakura doesn’t have the presence of mind to care. She just grips Ino’s shirt and buries her face in Ino’s shoulder and sobs.

“I’ll always be here,” Ino whispers into Sakura’s hair, so soft she almost doesn’t hear. “I’m not going anywhere.”

❀✿

5.

_ Violet: Honesty, sincerity, and true love _

She and Ino spend a lot more time together when they begin training with Lady Tsunade. 

Tsunade doesn't often take students. It's a privilege that they both covet. Tsunade's lessons are difficult, but they work hard, and they encourage each other, and at last, their rivalry is something that feels  _ good _ —right. Ino pushes her to be the best she can be. She makes her better, stronger. And Sakura makes Ino better and stronger in return.

On days when Tsunade holds lessons for them, Sakura and Ino start spending lunch together. They take their boxed lunches to the rooftop of the hokage’s office and sit on the flat circular roof, their feet dangling over the edge as the city spreads out below them. They spend just as much time talking as they do eating. It feels almost like it used to: comfortable, familiar, carefree. Happy. Being with Ino is always so easy. She can’t believe they wasted so much time hating each other. No one can make Sakura smile like Ino can.

“I’ve got something for you,” Ino says one afternoon when she appears at their usual lunch spot. She’s holding something behind her back as she grins at Sakura on the other side of the roof.

Sakura tilts her head, trying to get a look at what Ino is hiding. “What is it?”

Ino smiles wider and then pulls out a bouquet of purple flowers. “Violets,” she says. “Fresh from the store.”

“Aw, Ino.” Sakura’s heart jumps in her chest—a feeling that is both familiar and unfamiliar. “What’s the occasion?”

“Well…” Ino takes her seat next to Sakura and hands her the flowers. “I guess I have some confessions to make.”

Sakura sits upright. “Confessions?”

“Yeah.” Ino swings her feet and folds her hands in her lap. “I figured it was probably time.”

A warm breeze sweeps across the rooftop, lifting Sakura’s hair from her neck. Her pulse quickens. She watches Ino rub her thumb against her palm and waits.

“I don’t think I was ever in love with Sasuke,” Ino says finally. The name sparks a dull pain in Sakura’s chest—an old wound. She pushes back the feeling. “All the other girls liked him. I think I just assumed that I did, too.”

“But...” Sakura frowns. “Why would you think that?”

“I guess it was easier than admitting I didn’t like any of the boys,” Ino says. She looks up from her hands and gives Sakura a wan smile. “Just you.”

“Oh.” The wind blows again, and Sakura blinks.  _ “Oh.” _

And Sakura’s world begins to spin on a new axis.

The way Ino looks with flowers in her hair. The admiration Sakura has always felt for Ino’s effortless beauty, her intelligence, her confidence. The way Sakura’s pulse would jump every time Ino held her hand. The comfort in their easy companionship. The feeling in her chest when Ino smiles at her. 

“Ino,” Sakura says. Her eyes sting and her throat grows tight. “Do you… Do you still—”

“Yes,” Ino answers easily. “You’re a hard girl to give up on, Sakura.”

Sakura doesn’t realize she’s crying until Ino reaches out her hand to cup Sakura’s cheek, brushing away a tear with her thumb. She leans into the touch and covers Ino’s hand with her own. 

“Are you okay?” Ino murmurs.

Sakura sniffs. “Yes, I’m— I’m fine. Just happy, I think.”

“This isn’t really how I expected this to go,” Ino admits with a laugh. Sakura laughs too, a couple more tears escaping as she does. 

“How… How  _ did  _ you expect this to go?”

Ino shrugs. “I guess I thought you’d thank me for trusting you before turning me down politely and telling me to go talk to Kiba’s sister.”

Sakura really laughs at that, loud and unfettered, until she’s not sure whether she’s laughing or crying more. Ino laughs too, her smile more radiant and dazzling than anything Sakura’s ever seen. When they finally manage to quiet their laughter enough to speak again, they’re both flushed, breathless, and a little giddy. Sakura leans in closer to Ino and asks, tentative, “Can I kiss you?”

“Not if I kiss you first,” Ino replies. And then she does.

It’s small, at first. Just the barest press of Ino’s lips against her own. Her lips are soft, and they taste sweet like Ino’s rose lip balm. She finds herself smiling against Ino’s mouth before Ino pulls away, pressing their foreheads together. 

“You keeping up, Sakura?” Ino asks, but she sounds just as winded as Sakura feels. “Because the last time I checked, you can’t really smile and kiss at the same time.”

“Stop it,” Sakura giggles, and then leans forward for another kiss.

They’re late to Tsunade’s afternoon lesson. When they finally arrive, breathless and laughing, Tsunade takes one look at their joined hands and rolls her eyes.

“Congratulations,” she says, “but don’t be late again.”

Ino squeezes Sakura’s hand. “Yes, Lady Tsunade.”

Sakura blushes.

It’s taken them a long time to get here, and she knows their journey isn’t over yet. Still, it’s easy to feel invincible with Ino at her side. With Ino, she feels whole. With Ino, she knows she can bloom into something truly great.

**Author's Note:**

> ino is a lesbian and sakura is bisexual. i'm sorry i don't make the rules.
> 
> thanks for reading!


End file.
